Better Together
by xXxAngelStormxXx
Summary: Life on the Isle wasn't as awful as it may have seemed at first. Sure, they only got Auradon's leftovers, but they learned how to make due. And now, after more than twenty years of being left alone and treated like dirt, now Auradon has a change of heart? Now they want to give their kids a chance? Not a chance. As far as they're concerned, Auradon can burn to the ground. (cont...)
1. Introduction

**Author Note: First chapter is just a quick intro type chapter, giving a very small glimpse into the very first VK day.**

**Parent backstories are provided in the first installment of this series, titled Good is the New Bad.**

**Because it didn't fully fit in the summary box, here is the full story summary:**

**Life on the Isle wasn't as awful as it may have seemed at first. Sure, they only got Auradon's leftovers, but they learned how to make due**

**And now, after more than twenty years of being left alone and treated like dirt, now Auradon has a change of heart? Now they want to give their kids a chance? Not a chance.**

**As far as they're concerned, Auradon can burn to the ground, but not before they tear down that pesky little barrier first.**

It was the dawn of a new day in Auradon, the sun was just beginning to light up the land. It was still very early by anyone's standards, and yet the young newly crowned King was wide awake and had been for hours. Finally, with the pale light starting to peek through the windows he rose from his bed and made his way out onto the balcony, pulling on a robe as he went. Ben breathed in the fresh air, the breeze a welcome chill as he gazed out over the coast, the water glinting from the light. His eyes rested on the lone island off their shores, the Isle of the Lost. Although he thought it looked like it would be gloomier inside of it, the dome around it seemed to sparkle from the outside, as if hiding the horrors of his father's reign, the casualties of heroes' shame and resentment beneath it. Today would be a day that would go down in history, he could feel it.

* * *

Today was the day, and Evie had risen far before the dim gloom of dawn had begun to light up the streets. Sitting in the salon chair she gushed over her young stylist's work, enthused by her hard work and talent. Dizzy Tremaine was younger, and Evie had quickly bonded with the girl over their shared love of the fashion scene. Today would be the last time for awhile that the two girls would see each other, and Evie let the young protégé go wild with her hair. A new look for a new chapter, she told her.

* * *

Freddie, like Evie, had been up for hours before the gloomy dawn peeked through her bedroom window, or rather through her and Celia's bedroom window. Gently she ran her hand along her still sleeping sister's head. At her core Freddie was a family girl, she was a daddy's girl and her sister's keeper, it was just part of who she was. She would loathe to leave them both when the time came, but for now she enjoyed holding her sister closely in the still morning.

* * *

Most days the daughter of Maleficent readily rose with the sunrise, but today she pulled the pillow over her head with a groan. Even if she did eventually come out on top, she really shouldn't have matched Jay shot for shot last night, she acknowledged. Five more minutes. She decided, I need five more minutes.

* * *

Jay, used to having to deal with a hangover, was already up across town making sure Carlos was packed and ready while they made sure his father Jafar would ensure Grimhilde would get the supplies for Evie's potion medicine for Ella. The young genius had discovered she was quite good at making potion medicine and had recently put together a regiment for Carlos's mother. They had yet to see the medicines yield any results, but they needed Grimhilde to continue brewing it with the supplies that Jafar would make sure he got to her. The only problem left was figuring out who would check on Cruella and when to make sure she was actually taking it as Evie prescribed.

* * *

Down by the docks, Harry woke in the Captain's quarters on the Lost Revenge to his stunningly beautiful, yet very deadly, Captain's lips and fingers trailing on his bare skin, gently lulling him from sleep. "Uma." The way he said her name never failed to send thrills through her, and she kissed up his neck and jaw in response, making her way to his lips. Fingers threaded into her braids and they spent precious time alone in her cabin wrapped together until the crew alerted them to the arrival of the prestigious golden Auradonian limos.


	2. Leaving the Isle

**Chapter Summary: The ten kids chosen get escorted away from their home, and after a lifetime without magic, at least one of the magical kids bodies negatively reacts to being outside the barrier and surrounded by magic for the first time.**

**Author's Note: PS: Because Uma doesn't have a voice yet, she uses signs, looks, and body language to communicate. I have anything I want her to 'say' in italics.**

It was nearly midday and the Isle rallied around the ten teens who were being taken to Auradon. Crowds came in droves to see them off in the pristine golden limousines that had been sent to pick them up. Standing tall they said their goodbyes to their friends, family, and home, hoping they would have the chance to see them all again eventually. Uma couldn't help looking back at the rest of her crew before she, Harry, Gil, Desiree and Jillian got ready to duck through the door. The drivers already inside she knew they wouldn't see it and in a final act of solidarity before she would go a long time away from most of her crew, she took the sword from her side and raised it in the air. Harry got to a knee in front of her and raised his own to her, and immediately after he started to go down the rest of the Warf Rats followed, her name a chant falling from their lips. With her eyes she promised them this wasn't goodbye, that she would be back for them all. She sheathed her sword and the crew called out their motto for her as their captain, her first mate, and four of their fellow crew members slide into the vehicle, "We ride with the tide!"

The second the doors were fully closed the Limo drivers began to drive, not giving the children in the back much chance to adjust and get comfortable in the large, lavish space. With the jolt the small sea-witch was almost thrown to the floor, Harry's arms had shot out to keep her steady and saved her from getting a face-full of carpet. Her lips twitched with a scowl towards the divider, which the drivers had closed immediately after Carlos asked what the buttons did. (Evie thought that was quite rude of them, if you ask her.) Freddie turned and watched through the back window, catching the gaze of her father and sister she waved. "I love you." She mouthed to them one last time before they were out of sight.

The barrier came down and the young Islanders eyes widened, fear coursing through their veins as they looked out the windows in utter horror at the empty sea in front of them. "They're trying to kill us!" Carlos wasn't the only one to screech in panic, many of the teens grabbed at each other, screaming for their lives. Harry crushed Uma to his chest and the other three pirates grabbed on, forming a protective barrier around their Captain. Mal and Evie clutched at each other, Evie squeezing her eyes shut as Carlos wound himself around Jay who was reaching for the two girls whom they considered their sisters. Freddie curled up into a ball between them all. After a few seconds of screaming, they slowly began to stop screaming, and hesitantly Uma lifted her head from Harry's neck and cracked an eye, curious.

She blinked in surprise, and gently started tapping Harry's arm to get him to open his eyes and look, which of course he did, obliging his Captain's wishes. His mouth dropped for a second before he barked out a laugh. "Well, would'ja look at that."

Choruses of "Oh", "Wow", "Is- is that magic?" came from all around the limo as they looked around in wonder at the glimmering translucent bridge that was appearing out of nowhere. After a few seconds outside of the barrier, Uma twitched her nose and tensed. She didn't feel right. The magic in her veins was starting to scream at her as it awoke, and it was not happy. Silently she gripped at Harry's hand as she let out a gasp of pain and screwed her eyes shut. "Captain?" he looked at her, unnerved. "Uma? What's wrong lass?" He murmured into her hair as she almost trembled in his arms, but she didn't respond, unable to hear him due to the thudding of her heartbeat in her ears, the sound of the waves crashing becoming more and more deafening.

Her skin, her legs, it all felt like it was burning, she felt like her tentacles were churning in her belly, fighting for release from their prison with the call of the sea below them. Erratically she began to kick and flail, the heels of her boots moving to scratch at her legs desperately. Immediately Harry slid the two of them off the seat and to the floor, turning her so that her body was towards him and trapping her legs with his own. "Her boots." He almost hissed, and Desiree immediately pulled them off, and a glance told her that she hadn't yet scratched herself hard enough to draw blood. The pain intensified the longer they were over the water, and Uma pushed harder against Harry's strong hold, uncharacteristically whimpering. Then she did something unprecedented just before they passed from water to land; she bit Harry's neck, hard.

As they went inland her body began to relax once more, the burning became no more than a dull aching sensation and it felt like the tentacles that had been fighting for release gave in and instead coiled in the pit of her stomach. Slowly she came out of the pain induced haze as the call of the sea became so low that she almost couldn't hear it anymore. Gently she released him, and placed kisses around the deep, bleeding wound in apology, horrified that she had just hurt him.

The others had all kept their distance, knowing if they got close, not only could Uma accidentally do damage to them or they to her, but that Harry would never let any of them close enough if he didn't think it would help his beloved Captain, even if they were a part of their crew. "Captain?" Gil asked, "Are you okay now?"

She tapped out an affirmative on Harry's skin, and he nodded to Gaston's youngest. "She is."

"Uma, what happened?" he asked, allowing her to pull back and examine his neck for a moment before drawing her attention away from it by cupping her small face in his hands, her eyes are full of guilt as she looked at what she had just done. _Burning_, she tells him, _I was burning, and it wouldn't stop._ "Burning?" She nods, _I think- I think it was the call of the sea.' _she stumbles over herself, unsure,_ and _Harry looked at her worried with a frown on his lips. " The call of the sea? I don' think it's 'sposed to be painful."

Evie shook her head, also frowning, "No way. I think it has to do with the barrier."

"Yeah, I think Evie's right. You should have grown up going through the transition and learning how to control shifting, but because of the barrier, you weren't able to do that." Mal agrees grimly.

"So, you've got sixteen years of shifting and transitions built up within you. Oh wow, no wonder you're in so much pain." Freddie grimaces, and even though she speaks rather bluntly she is still worried for their friend.

Evie flinches, sending a concerned look to Mal. "Do you- do you think you'll grow wings and horns, like your mother, now that you're outside the barrier?"

Mal shrugs, "I honestly don't know. Mother thinks that being trapped under a forceful repression barrier like that stunted my fae side. She thinks that if I'd gotten out from under the barrier sooner, that maybe I could have grown more naturally and caught up in my development, but at my age, she honestly thinks it isn't likely." She winces, a sad expression in her eyes. She had always longed to be able to fly side by side with her parents, but thanks to the King Beast she would surely never join them in the sky. "But I hope I do." Her voice is so quite that her words are nearly unregistered by the others in the room. Hope is for children, this she knows well by now, but all her life she craved the sky, she craved the experience of flying with her mother (and father); it was in her blood and it called to her by name. It should have been a natural thing for her, she should have gotten her wings at a young age and been taught to fly. Among all of her childish hopes and dreams, this was the only one that she never could release.

Uma looked worried, _'Do you think it will happen again?' _she shared a glance with her first mate as she asked her question._ 'Do you think it will get worse?_' She bit her lip, she was used to pain, but this was something else entirely. This was an inescapable and crippling pain unlike anything she had ever felt before.

"I don't know Uma. I don't know." he wished he had the answers his captain sought, and he looked around the cabin to see the others in the same predicament. Nobody could answer Uma's questions, not for lack of trying, but because they were utterly unable to do so. With worry for the small captain, the ride was a lot quieter as they neared Auradon Prep. Finally, the vehicle ground to an abrupt halt, once again throwing some of the teens around. "No manners, I swear." Evie grumbled, pulling herself from the floor with a scowl.

There was a long pause as the teens stiffened, suddenly more nervous than before. "Is this really happening?" Carlos asked, "Are we really about to meet the people that locked us all up and threw away the key?"

Jay twitched, his lips a thin line. "Yeah." he nodded.

"And we're going to do it with a smile." Evie said decidedly, "Show them what real manners are supposed to look like."

"At least until we get rid of that nasty forceful repression barrier. The Isle is great and all, but we could use some magic and natural sunlight." Mal tacks on.

Let's show them just how bad we can be." Freddie grins wickedly and puts her hand in the middle of the group. Sharing nods, Mal, Evie, Jay and Carlos all reach in while the pirate kids wait for their captain to reach first before they join in. They might be friends, but first and foremost came their loyalty to their captain, to Uma. When there were ten hands in the middle of the group, they heard the locks click open on the doors, and with bated breath they waited to be let out.

**Author's Note: I chose for Uma to have a negative reaction to being outside the barrier for the first time because I thought it sort of made sense for the magical kids to have some sort of negative reaction to going a lifetime without the natural magic they should have had to suddenly having it all bombard them at once. And of course, Uma being a sea witch is right above the sea when they are on that magic bridge, so it made sense to me for her to react more immediately.**


	3. Welcome to Auradon

**Chapter Summary: In which the Isle kids have more manners than some of the Auradonians, Audrey gets insulted (her own fault), and Evie can't help herself and promptly calls out Beast for being a terrible human being.**

The light that flooded into the limousine was both startling and blinding to the teenagers who had been accustomed to the dark and gloomy atmosphere of the Isle. The dark tint of the windows had kept most of it out on the way to Auradon, so this was their first true experience with unfiltered, unblocked sunlight. The music playing was deafening in its raw form and Mal immediately clasped her hands over her ears with a soft cry of pain. The band was playing ceremoniously, and as loud as they could, it would seem. The volume was too loud for Mal's delicate fae hearing. She had never experienced it fully before; the isle had taken that from her too it would seem.

At first, they floundered on what to do. "Well?" A voice they barely heard through the music almost hissed at them from within the blinding spotlight coming through the door. "Are you going to get out or not?" It seemed that they were taking longer to adjust and move than the drivers were willing to wait.

It was Freddie who slid out first, shrieking at them, "Stop! Stop! Stop!" she waved her hands desperately, trying to get them to listen. Thankfully they did, and the music came to an abrupt end. Confused looks and murmers ran through the crowd, the band players frowinig.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ben was the first to speak directly to the girl.

"It's Mal, the loud music is hurting her ears." She explained, "She's fae." The look of understanding crossed Ben's face and he berated himself for not realizing the implications of that fact sooner, for allowing the band to play, and at such volume too. He glanced back at the band before returning his gaze to Freddie, "Oh man, I'm so sorry. Is she alright?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine." A soft voice assured. They turned to see Evie holding onto a girl with purple hair, both of them holding their hands over her ears. "What is that ringing sound?" Mal shouted. "Evie do you hear that?" she scrunched up her nose and pressed her hands tighter to her ears.

"Mal, honey, you're shouting." Evie told her softly.

"What? No I'm not?" the girl scoffed, not lowering her voice in the slightest.

One by one the others slid out of the car behind them until only Uma and Harry sat still inside. It would take her another minute to calm her nerves and ready herself to see the Beast in her story, the self-righteous King who tore apart her family.

The other teens looked to Evie for guidance, unsure quite what was expected of them, especially etiquette and manners-wise, and although they went through Grimhillde's etiquette and manners classes, Evie was by far the most adept and accomplished when it came down to it. Manners and etiquette were mere child's play for her. They knew Evie would dissect the situation and find the hidden, and not so hidden, meanings of the Auradonian's words and actions.

"Okay, um, Welcome, welcome!" the young, newly crowned king turned to greet the rest of the teens enthusiastically, although more conscious of the volume of his voice. He seemed to smile wider as they hesitantly met his eyes and returned his smile, although in a far, far more subdued manner. He opened his mouth, and Evie knew he had a speech prepared just to welcome them but was cut off by the brunette in pale pink who came up next to him. "As you know, this is _King_ Ben," she was almost clutching at his arm, and Mal quirked an eyebrow at the poorly timed possessive display, "And I'm his _girlfriend_, _Princess _Audrey." She stressed their titles, and Evie's nose twitched in annoyance, but she graced them with a smile, "You're a princess? Me too!" She released Mal and went to curtsey, and although she was slightly annoyed with the way Audrey introduced herself there was still a hint of excitement which only the Isle kids would notice. There weren't many princesses on the Isle of the Lost, so she was excited to make new friends with some of them who were. It was something in common that other non-princesses didn't always understand. "I'm-"

"You don't have a title here." Even though her voice was sickly sweet and bright, the sneer in her voice was audible to the Isle teens as she snubbed Grimhilde's daughter. Evie froze, only just about to dip into her curtsey, her smile slowly disappearing off her face, she truly looked like she'd just been slapped in the face. She straightened up, and Audrey narrowed her eyes at her in disbelief, she had just started to and abruptly refused to curtsey to the Princess of Auroria.

"How dare you." Mal put herself in front of Evie. Her ears still ringing, her voice was loud and angry, "How dare you insult her." Although small, Mal looked menacing as she almost growled at the princess.

"I didn't insult anyone." Audrey insisted, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "I just made sure she knew she has no title so there wouldn't be any confusion later."

"No, you did it to establish yourself as the alpha princess." Mal pointed at her, "You did it to make her feel unwelcome and to tear her down." she continued, looking at her with thinly veiled disgust. "You-"

"Mal, what did I just say about manners." Evie cut in, a calming hand on the fae's shoulder. "But-" she tried and was halted by a raised hand, "Clearly she didn't have proper etiquette instruction and could use someone to set a proper example for her." Evie politely snubbed her right back, the insult made Audrey gasp, a hand over her heart. Instead of addressing her, Evie turned to Ben and Belle. "It's lovely to meet you your highnesses. King Benjamin, thank you for inviting us to come visit Auradon, from what little I've seen so far it seems a lovely place." She curtseyed to Ben, who greeted her with the same enthusiasm in his bow. "Queen Belle, I hear you spend time as a tutor as Auradon Prep, it would be an honor to learn under you." She complimented and curtseyed to her as well, but ignored King Adam entirely, who began to look annoyed at how blatantly she ignored him.

"Aren't there supposed to be ten-" Ben blinked after he started counting the number of people who came in the limo. "Yeah, Harry and Uma are still in the backseat probably." Freddie answered him with a shrug. "I'd say give 'em a minute and they'll probably be out."

"And if not, we'll just drag them out." Jay grinned and Evie smile, sharing a laugh with Carlos. "Okay then." Ben blinked at them.

"I'll check on them." Gil volunteered, with a smile and Adam's eyes narrowed at the oblivious boy. There was something familiar about him, but Adam just couldn't put his finger on it. He turned and marched back to the door, peeking his head inside and talking to the two inhabitants for a moment before turning and coming back, now holding a small baggie in his hands.

"Well?" Jay asked when he didn't say anything. "Oh, they're coming." he nodded cheerfully, eating from the bag of berries that had been handed to him while he had checked on them.

King Adam cleared his throat, in expectation that he be greeted how he deemed appropriate as well, and Evie looked at him, almost blankly. "Aren't you going to bow to King Adam." Audrey was the one who spoke, still sore that the other girl had insulted and snubbed her by refused to bow.

The tight, thin-lipped smile she gave them in return as she looked at his with absolute hatred clear on her face was unsurmounted. Almost no-one had ever seen anyone dare to look at King Adam like that, and it was not a look that graced the princess's features often. "I don't bow to baby-killers." Her smile became sickly sweet and patronizing, and her tone matched. Noise erupted around her at the accusation, and angry Auradonian's yelled and berated her in response.

"Humph!" Mal's hands flew to her still sore ears once more in response to the booming influx of voices.

"Hold on, wait! Hey!" Ben yelled and people quieted down, "What do you mean by that? I'm sure it's just a big misunderstanding." he tried, hoping that was all it was, but his gut didn't agree with his hopeful mind.

"If you call hacking up members of my family in their infancy a misunderstanding." she responded, "Or allowing children and infants to live on an island where it mostly rains or snows, and not a drop of sunshine ever reaches you, without proper clothing, blankets and heating which causes illness and death, a misunderstanding.." She looked him in the eye, and nothing about her words, stance, or the look she gave them said she was telling anything but the truth. "Or if you call throwing people to the island, not giving them the medication they need to properly live, both healthy and sane, a misunderstanding." Her words were grim, but they seemed to have at least some kind of effect. "Trust me young King, there is no room for misunderstanding in the many awful things your father and his friends have done." Belle looked at her husband horrified, as did many others who could see just how wrong had been and could afford to not be afraid of him tossing them to the Isle too.

Silence rang, which of course would be when the duo would choose to make their appearance and all eyes went to the back of the limo when a boy decked out in a red jacket, who could only be the son of Captain Hook, exited, followed by a small girl, predominantly in teal. She had left her jacket open, a crop top proudly displaying the marks she had allowed Harry to give her that morning on her stomach. In the harsh sunlight the marks she had left in return on Harry's neck and chest underneath the white shirt that was so full of holes he may as well have not even worn one, shone even darker purple against his pale skin. She was anything if not possessive, and in true pirate fashion, neither one seemed the least bit bothered or ashamed as they sauntered up to the group of gaping Auradonians. Belle's eyes were drawn to the bright red blood trailing from his neck coming from the fresh injury he sustained on the ride over.

"Oh dear, what happened to your neck?" She gasped.

"Uma may have bit me on accident." he shrugged, throwing an arm around Uma's shoulders. "She bit you?" Belle blinked and looked at the small girl, who looked guilty and embarrassed, but gave a short nod of confirmation.

King Adam narrowed his eyes at them, and Uma promptly cussed him out, her hands flying as she used every vulgar insult she could think of. Harry barked in laughter, the other four pirate kids joining in, laughing harder when King Adam sputtered out, "What in all of Auradon is she doing?" Uma raised an eyebrow, her smirk not as satisfied, but she knew it would work to her advantage that they clearly had no idea how to understand her sign language.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand." Ben sheepishly told her, the look on his face told the Isle kids he was more than willing to learn, and they looked at him appreciatively. He and Belle looked both sheepish and interested, more than willing to learn. "Oh, be glad you don't understand yet." Freddie murmured under her breath, whispering in his ear, "She used some rather…colorful language."

Clearing his throat Harry gives them a grin and a glint in his eye, "Uma says it's nice to meet you." He smoothly lied and Jay barked a laugh. "Well, she said a whole lot more than that. I just _summarized_."


	4. Dorm Rooms

**Chapter Summary: The VK's get shown to their new dorm rooms and Ben apologizes.**

**Note: I made a small change to the end of chapter 3, sorry guys! I just realized It'd be better, for me anyways, if they don't know that Uma was cussing King Adam out just yet. He doesn't know who she is, and doesn't really need to know just yet, and unfortunately that might give it away.**

**I may or may not come back and add snippets of them exploring their rooms/deciding if they like the dorm/unpacking to this chapter. I haven't decided yet, so we'll see.**

The tour ended up being rather short, led by Ben and Fairy Godmother because after that eventful ride over, and among some of the first people they saw was the King Beast, the teens were exhausted, and their limit had quickly been met. "So, does this tour involved showing the people where they get to sleep? Because I for one, am seriously exhausted." Mal joked with Ben loudly, it would take a little bit of time for her hearing to balance back out and ears to heal. He flushed, "Oh, of course!" again, he mentally face-palmed for not seeing the tired look on their faces. "Dorms are right this way." He gestured.

"Your things were gathered from the limo and were already brought up." he informs them, to their relief. They hadn't been given the opportunity or chance to grab it themselves as they had felt like they were shuffled out of the courtyard rather quickly after Uma's… greeting.

"Great." Evie smiled at him.

"I think you can handle it from here, Prince Ben." Fairy Godmother smiled at him and took her leave, leaving the ten Isle teens alone with the future King of Auradon.

As they wound through the hallways he was silent, which from what they saw of him thus far, was unusal. Stopping in front of a door he turned, "I know I didn't say it before and I should have, but I'm really really sorry about Audrey. She shouldn't have treated you like that." He apologized and Mal could feel the sincerity in his voice. He was seriously apologetic, and he wasn't the one who did anything wrong.

"Hey, it's okay." Evie tried to shrug it off, she thought Ben shouldn't feel guilty about something he had nothing to do with, and Ben shook his head.

"That's the thing, is that it's really not." he denied, "I'm sorry about Audrey and I'm sorry that your welcome was… rough. And with what happened to your family, I know that there is no apology, no word, no action; there is nothing I could ever say or do will be enough. But please know that I tell you now with the utmost sincerity, that I am so sorry that your family went through something so traumatic, and at my father's hand no less." He clenched his jaw.

Uma reached out and put her hand on his shoulder, looking to Evie.

"It's not your fault Ben, you were barely a baby." she conveyed her cousin's message. Ben was a smart boy, and he quickly connected the dots between Uma's action and Evie's words. He quickly connected that they were family, and that it was Uma's siblings who were lost. Once he made that connection he thought about the steely glare in her eyes when she saw his father King Adam, and knew that Harry was sparing them from the fact that she probably said something with quite… inappropriate language, justified but inappropriate.

Shaking away the gloom he patted his pockets and pulled out the key sets. "Uh, here we go." he handed one to Evie and one to Mal, "So,Genevieve and Maladia, right?" they nodded, "Oh, but uh, I go by Mal." she informed him and Evie chimed in, "And we're friends, so you can call me Evie." she smiled warmly at him. He returned the smile, "You two are sharing this one."

"Jillian and Desiree?" he asked, holding out the next set, "You two are actually right across the hall here." he gestured to the other room. The two pirate girls nodded, accepting their keys.

Instead of waiting in their rooms the girls followed to find out where the boys rooms were. "Jaylen and Carlos, you guys are in this one. Harrison and Guillaume you're across the hall." he pointed to each room before handing them the keys. "I go by Harry, and he's just Gil." He glowered at his full name, though Gil didn't seem to mind hearing his. "Now, what about Uma? Where is she?" he narrowed his eyes at the boy King. "Yeah, and me?" Freddie chimed in.

"Uma and Freddie, you guys are right down this way." he motioned to follow, which of course they did. "I'm sorry, making you loop back around. I guess I'm a little scatterbrained today. We passed right by it on our way over here."

Uma hooked her pinky around Harry's discreetly, tugging the taller pirate along by her side. They walked close enough that no one was the wiser. "You two are right here." he finally stopped after making a few more turns back the way they came. Their dorm was a midway point between the other boys and girls, they noticed, like a divider. "Here's your keys." he handed them each one.

"I will let you guys get settled in." he offers, "And I can come around to pick you up around dinnertime if you want? Show you a bit of the grounds and where the cafeteria is. No pressure, if I stop by and you don't feel like it, that's fine too." he shrugged,. The teens waved as he disappeared around the corner before turning and sharing a look.

Listening to Uma they spread back out, going back to unpack their things and settle into their rooms as directed. Harry lingered, "Captain." he pouted, as she waved him away to go with Gil back to their room. With a groan and a pout settling onto his lips he went with the promise that he would be back by her side soon.


	5. QUICK QUESTION?

Okay you guys, I got feedback from a few of you (Thank you for responding BTW!), and decided to change from Gonzo to Freddie! I've gone back to make changes and have uploaded the updated chapters!

I hope you guys enjoy! I know I have a tendency to back and make a lot of changes with my stories, I do this quite frequently when I'm in the process of writing something i just get so excited to post the update, and then I realize later I wanted to add or change something.

I'm sorry I'm so indecisive, so thank you for bearing with me and sticking around to read my stories!

* * *

So, for starters I'm sorry this isn't an actual update I just have a quick question for you all.

I realized this morning that when I was doing the dorm room placements that I've forgotten someone. (It was Gonzo if you forgot like I did and were wondering.)

If you've been reading my other stories, namely A Villain by Any Other Name (Is Still A Villain) you'll know that I've been using Freddie Faciler from Wicked World. (Honestly, I've gotten so attached to her.)

So, my question is this: Does anybody care if I switch out one of the pirates VK's (Gonzo) and bring in Freddie instead?

If you guys really want me to keep Gonzo I will, I just think I'll do more with Freddie if I bring her in instead. That will diminish my pirate crew from six (counting their Captain) to five, but I'll still have a total of ten VK's.

Please let me know what your thoughts are! Are you okay with making the switch from Gonzo to Freddie? Do you like the list of VKs I chose? Do you think I should make some other changes?


	6. The Wonders of Soap and a Working Shower

**Chapter Summary: Bye bye, Shrimpy!**

By the time Ben came up to see if they wanted to join him for supper, they were all gathered in Uma and Freddie's room, fast asleep. It had been a trying day; Uma had a painful ride over and Mal needed to rest while her ears mended.

The two girls pushed their beds together so they were almost one, they would get better use of the space that way, they knew from experience.

Uma laid back on the pillows piled at the head of her half of the bed, Harry's head on her chest where she could easily reach and threaded her fingers through his hair as they fell asleep, the soft hair sliding through her fingers with each gentle, soothing tug. Gil, Desiree and Jillian had managed to squeeze themselves onto the twin-size bed with ease. It wasn't like they hadn't done it plenty of times in the past, they knew how to fit them all comfortably in a tangled mess of limbs. Evie, Mal, Carlos and Jay had clambered onto Freddie's side with her too, in a puddle together where they felt safe.

The ten teenagers were comfortable and exhausted, so they quickly fell asleep, not even hearing Ben when he came to knock, who rightfully assumed they had fallen asleep when they didn't answer him. He didn't want to wake them when they had been so tired, so he resolved to come back in the morning with an invitation to join him for breakfast instead.

When morning finally came, the light that filtered and shined it's way through the windows was far brighter than any dawn they had ever experienced and Jay wasn't the only one to grumble and pull something over his eyes. "Is it supposed to be that bright this early?"

"Yup." Mal answered, "Everything is brighter in Auradon." she snidely commented in a faux super happy and cheerful voice, mimicking what she imagined most Auradonians sounded like based on all the newsreels that constantly aired on the Isle. Seriously, it was the only channel they sent them, and it was ridiculous. Her hair was wrapped atop her head in a fluffy towel and she wore a satiny pink robe. "Hey E? You're going to love showers." she informed her sleepy friend, still blinking the sleep from her eyes. Immediately she hopped up and made it to the bathroom before any of them could even move.

"Wow, somebody's eager to try a real working shower." Freddie said teasingly, but they all were, running water just wasn't a very common thing on the Isle. Pipes were a rarity to receive from Auradon, so they were used so sparingly. It was sort of a miracle that they even had working electricity.

Mal just got there first because of how early a riser she was. "How are you so… awake right now?" Gil sleepily groaned. "My mom raised me to be up with or before the first rays of dawn." she shrugged, "It's a habit that stems back all the way to her childhood in the Moors." she sits down on the desk chair, "Which reminds me, I should try and figure out how to get there from here." she mused, "Do you think they'd let me take a little field trip or will I have to sneak away?" she looked thoughtful as they heard the water run, a delighted squeal sounded and Mal smiled. "I knew she'd like it."

"Hey Uma," she looked back to the girl with her hair in a zillion braids. Wetting her lips as her attention was turned on her with a raised eyebrow, her fingers once again brushing through Harry's hair as she lulled him from his sleep. "Their shampoo is super strong, and there's so many in there." she tells her, "I think it might- um, I think it might help." she gestured at her own hair, to explain what she meant. Mal felt bad, she really did. She and Uma had been in a fight as children and in her rage she had dumped a bucket of rotten shrimp on her friend's head. She regretted it deeply, especially so when the smell wouldn't come out for anything. Poor Uma had been stuck with a lingering scent of bad shrimp in her hair for the past ten years.

Uma's nose twitched, but she acknowledged the apology in her friend's eyes. Mal made it her mission to make up for what she'd done, bringing Uma every scented thing she could, always an apology in her eyes, but nothing ever worked. Maybe now that they had brand new, fresh soaps they could try to do something and it would actually work for once.

It didn't take too long for Evie to finish up in the shower, she wanted the others to get in there and try it, and being pipes for water like this weren't common on the isle she wasn't sure how much water they had access to and didn't want to take it all, especially the nice hot water. She lamented over the years she'd had to boil pail after pail only to have it be barely lukewarm by the time the last one filled the basin. It wasn't fair, Auradon had this wonderful luxury at its fingertips and she was only just getting to try it because they took her away from her home.

One by one, the teens took their turns, Uma going last because she insisted, they all have their chance first. Harry tried to argue but was silenced with a sharp glare, she was Captain after all, her word was law. Finally, Uma herself stepped from the shower and to the bedroom again, toweling off her hair. Eagerly Harry leaned closer, and she rolled her eyes as he caught a braid in his fingertips, pulling it up to his face and inhaling peacefully. His eyes popped open, delighted. "Uma!" He breathed her name, and she looked at him curiously before the others swarmed her, smelling her hair.

"Uma! It worked! It worked!" Mal laughed joyfully, she was so relieved for her friend. The longtime battle with her hair smelling like rot was finally over. She smelt clean.

She held it in, she had a rep to maintain after all, but Uma almost cried. That smell had been relentlessly terrorizing her for years and it was finally gone.


End file.
